Venous access ports for the infusion and/or withdrawal of fluids from a patient are well-known. These devices are typically used for drug infusion or small amounts of blood aspiration. Where large flows of fluid are required, larger ports can be used such as for hemodialysis or plasmapheresis.
Some ports may be implanted subcutaneously. Implantable venous access ports have the advantage that they can remain within the patient for prolonged periods of time, permitting multiple use and decreasing the risk for associated infection. These ports typically provide a septum defining an access site for multiple needle sticks without the need to continuously search for new access sites, since the septum is comprised of material such as silicone elastomer that self-seals each time as a needle is withdrawn. These ports also each include a stem, or discharge port, that extends through a distal wall and that has a passageway therethrough; the stem is secured to the proximal end of a catheter so that the discharge port passageway is in fluid communication with the catheter lumen. One such catheter infusion port is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2006/0184142 published on Aug. 17, 2006 (U.S. Ser. No. 11/335,369 filed Jan. 19, 2006). Another port is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,572.
Other types of ports are in use, known as dual ports or multi-ports. These provide two or more septa and internal chambers, all corresponding to different lumens of the attached catheter via respective separate discharge ports or alternatively, separate passageways in a single stem for communication with separate lumens of a dual or multi-lumen catheter, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,407.
Inherent in the placement of the presently commercially available implantable venous access ports is the risk of improper positioning. This can occur secondarily to the manipulation of the port and the attached catheter during placement into the subcutaneous port pocket. Catheter kinking or redundancy can occur. Furthermore, the catheter may be inadvertently withdrawn into a suboptimal intravenous location. These issues can lead to port failure necessitating readjustment during the procedure, or even replacement if failure is detected after implantation.
It would be most advantageous to provide a port that can be safely, easily and expeditiously inserted into the patient. Also, it would be an added benefit to be able to remove, positionally readjust and/or replace said port without undue difficulty, significantly prolonged procedure time or added risk to the patient.